The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-12-30

"a bony and 1 diEB nE aWay Hh9
human ghouls at the newest grave in
the potters' field of the town cemetery.
That is. 'dnight might have seen us
il she had carried her lantern with her,
but Mrs. Myers had died in "the dark
O. the moon," and we for greater pri-
vacy had gone without a light.
We raised the coffin and its contents
and by devious paths and By ways bore
it to the back room Of my office and
there turned on a little light.
The wrong coffin, by" was the
ejaculation of Bopy, finished with an
oath; and he dropped with a half-par-
aIyzed limpness into the nearest chair.
Then, recovering from his mortiiica-
ton, he vent on: That's the coffin
what we used for the gal at the hotel"
Here was a pretty go. The coffin
was of no use to Bony; and the uh-
known friends of the girl would in all
probability be on hand in a few days to
claim the body and take it elsewhere
4OA ihCCl AiCAL
But she'll make q bo0tiful dissect,'
added Bony, by way of comfort, when
he saw the misgiving expressed ON my
cou]nternance. 'InOticed as how she was
a bootiful gal when We was a nail ng
O. her up" he went on. You couldn't
do better n keep her, doctor, sCein'
We We had the trouble O gettin' her up.
l won't charge you nuthin' fur my
share o. the work." he continued, be-
traying ar eager desire to get out of
further interest in the business. you
can use the coffin for kindlin'. It's
only stained pine"
And BOny turned up the collar of his
coat and made toward the door as if
this trifing mistake in the matter of
collins had destroyed every bit of his
vengeful spirit
Stop, Bony." II said, "you must help
me lift the body out if we are going to
destroy the evidence of our nights
work." and l lifted the lid l had been
busy christening when Bony made his
bolt for the door.
Il cant do it, DOCTOR" Bony said,
in so timorous a voice as to surprise
me. 81 can't look on that gals face
again, nohow. 1 saw it this morning,
an ! felt queer all day. till the boss
riled me about that Myers coffin. l
can't touch her again, nohow; 1 can't,
/ tell you, nohow!' And Bony's pite-
Gus wall of ''can't-nohow," died away
in the distance as he closed the door
behind him and was
There was a sense of sorrowful i'm
.petuosity left as the echo of his reced-
ing voice, as if drawing himself unwill-
ingly away from some attractive spell
rhar might prove fatal if he stay ed. II
had lifted the lid and stood looking at
the dead face until that faint sense of
Bony's piteous ''nohowr' was succeed
ed BY q silence SO deep as seemed to
break my reYerie.
| turned away, but an irresistible inn
pulse drew me to the face again. There
was not a vestige of disease or emacia-
ton, there was not the sunkon eve, nor
the grim pallor Of death, but a marvel
ously beautiful countenance, hat wore
only q pleading expression, as if TO say:
"Why have you disturbed my sleepPn
II might be only Bony's timorous
voice still ringing in my ears that
made the dead face look so ~beseeching,
| could not break its spell. Turn
it with what determination I
some ineffable fascination drew
ME back again, even from my window
where / had gone. to catch the first
faint glimmerings Of the dawn, as If
heir coming would release me from
my strange situat on.
Involuntary / had moved the coffin
lid and looked upon the delicatcly
shiselled hands and the small and
feet. Her clothing was Of the
somnonest sort, and had been worn
for disguise and not of necessity.
queer feeling / understood
low, and every time my eyes p~erforce.
her face. 1t was the power Of
'eaaty 70 touch human sympathies.
What home had She desertedg How
'ar had she faIlenp 1t had been i Bit
# my Impractical philosophy that We
men were TOO ~exacting OF the other
sex; that we had no right TO ask more
han a fair balance Of virtues. And
lere I 9 in sympathy. putting that
BIT Of philosophy in practice. 1 was
myself 70 pity, eyc 70 Be in
crested III an evident outcast But
Why notP She was dead. Aud whenI
had freely pitied and admired. I could
give her back to dust again, ii 10
who might show more charity